Editor’s Note: As they have for the last couple of years, your summer Pause messages will feature the ‘Best of Pause. These GEMS are readers’ favorite messages from earlier years. Whether you are a long time subscriber, or new to our list, I hope you enjoy them all. After Labor Day, your Pause messages will once again feature all new info and resources.
P.S. – Also, be sure to scan right to the end of this message. You’ll want to be sure to catch the details on my Canada 150 Summer Art Project and the unique Provinces of Canada paintings on offer each week. This week – Beautiful British Columbia.
REFLECTION & ACTION:
An experienced artist recently shared a few thoughts about overworking in response to a question from a novice painter.
Although, the conversation centered on the negative impact of overworking a piece of art, as the discussion unfolded, I couldn’t help but notice the parallels between art and life.
The mentoring artist noted five causes of overwork:
- Repeatedly going back over old ground rather than leaving well enough alone and moving on
- Striving for perfection – spending time and energy on final finishing touches that don’t add appreciable value
- Forcing the work – letting impatience over-ride the flow of the paint, the brush or the pen
- Overusing a well developed skill when it’s not even called for in the work of the moment
- Getting caught up in the fine detail without stopping to step back for the long view and gaining perspective
It seems to me that we might take a page or two from the Old Masters and put them to work in our everyday work-lives.
When you find yourself bogged down by overwork, take stock of these questions and see if they shift your behavior: (more…)
